Sara Cox has admitted that Zoe Ball will be ‘brilliant’ in her new role as BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show host after it was suggested she was ‘gutted’ to lose out on the role.

The radio presenter, 44, who has often stood in for Chris Evans before he quit the job, was hotly-tipped to slip into his shoes following his departure.

However Sara confessed that she ‘never expected’ to be offered the job, during an interview with the Sun, because the stand-in never gets given the job, she claimed.

Well wishes: Sara Cox has admitted that Zoe Ball will be ‘brilliant’ in her new role as BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show host after it was suggested she was ‘gutted’ to lose out on the role

Referencing claims that she and Zoe had ‘drifted apart’, Sara said: ‘We drifted insomuch as Zoë lives in Brighton and I live in north London, and even my friends who I could throw a stone from my front doorstep and hit their house I don’t b****y see for weeks.’

‘So there’s nothing gone wrong – there’s definitely never been a cross word with me and Zoë – but you’ve got to nurture friendships. We’re both busy and we’ve both got kids, and if you don’t put the time in with friendships then they do fade a little bit.

‘But the roots are still there. It’s still there at its core. In the middle of the night I would drop everything and do anything that Zoë needed from me. She will always be a friend, but she’s got her best friends and I’ve got mine.’

Hot favourite: The radio presenter, 44, who has often stood in for Chris Evans before he quit the job, was hotly-tipped to slip into his shoes following his departure

Sara’s comments follow claims that the old friends had drifted apart following the battle for the coveted BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show gig.

Sara was said to be expecting the gig after having previously stood in for Chris over the years – and was left ‘completely gutted’ after the announcement that Zoe had bagged the honour, according to the publication.

However, despite the speculation, a BBC source told MailOnline: ‘This is a purely speculative piece.’

Not meant to be: However Sara confessed that she ‘never expected’ to be offered the job, during an interview with the Sun , because the stand-in never gets given the job, she claimed (pictured together in 2006)

Zoe snagged the slot while Sara was confirmed as the new host of Radio 2’s Drivetime.

And the claims of a fading friendship comes in complete contrast to Zoe recently mentioning that they have always supported each other in their careers.

Zoe told the Radio Times: ‘We spoke a lot during the whole process. We’re old buddies and we’ve always been really supportive of each other. Sometimes she gets jobs I’ve wanted. We always talk. It worked out.’

Reports: Sara was said to be expecting the gig after having previously stood in for Chris over the years

Following the news about Zoe’s new role last year, Sara cheekily played Shaggy’s It Wasn’t Me track on her evening show on Wednesday, before sending her congratulations.

She told her listeners: ‘Congratulations to Zoë Ball, she is taking over of course from Chris Evans: she’s been given the plum role of my breakfast show holiday cover.

‘So basically this is how it works. I’ve got the Breakfast Show, I just do ten weeks a year because I’m busy doing other stuff, and it is early. So I do ten weeks, and she’ll cover the other 42 weeks when I’m off on holiday sunning myself somewhere nice’, she added.

‘So congratulations to Zoë, I’m absolutely thrilled for her, that’s very nice. I did know for a couple of weeks or so that Zoë had it, but I managed to keep it secret.’

Claims: Sara was left ‘completely gutted’ after the announcement that Zoe had bagged the honour, according to the publication